Desideratum
by ApostasyII
Summary: Truth offers Envy and the other homunculi a single chance to retrieve a soul. But the cost of salvation is high. Between new military conspiracies, a violent supremacy group, and the strange, secretive Biologics Institute, new alliances must be formed, old friendships are tested and everyone must look within themselves to decide what it is they truly need. Brotherhood.
1. Prologue: The Land of Truth

Desideratum  
by ApostasyII

* * *

Everyone knows you can't pass the Gate of Truth without a soul. So what happens to a homunculus? Truth offers Envy and the other homunculi a single chance to retrieve a soul. But the cost of salvation is high and the path to redemption is anything but straightforward. Between new military conspiracies, a violent supremacy group, and the strange, secretive Biologics Institute, new alliances must be formed, old friendships are tested and everyone must look within themselves to decide what it is they truly need to find happiness.  
Set three years post Brotherhood. Envy/OC, Greed, Lust, hints of Ed/Winry, OC's

* * *

Prologue: The Land of Truth

White. Endless white was all that stretched before him like a vast ocean of pure light. It was blinding in its intensity. An infinite expanse of nothing. It rang with a deafening symphony of silence that echoed with painful emptiness through the very depths of its bleak existence. Was this death?

A sharp sound behind him caused him to spin around suddenly in surprise. He took a startled step back as he looked up. An enormous concrete door stretched before him, ancient and crumbling, looming like a monstrous shadow. Well, half a door really. It was broken, as though large chunks had been blasted forcefully away from it. Or perhaps it had been removed itself from a larger whole. It was filled with a complex array of symbols carved deeply into its noble face. Words were scratched into the surface: Saeva, Frigus, Odium, Captiosus, Acutulus. A single word stood out, etched in scrawling red in the very center: Invidia.  
He wasn't sure precisely why but there was something incredibly disturbing about all of this. This place was filled with an uneasy anxiety as it was and the dark door, bathed in lonely light, only lent to the tense feelings of disquiet that ran through this place like veins of silver. There seemed to be a charged air around the unsettling door like static that rolled off it in thick waves of warning, screaming at him to get away. There was something about it that made his stomach turn and the hair on the back of his neck stand on end just looking at it. Yet it also held an alarming attraction. He was simultaneously drawn to its siren call and terrified of its solemn depravity. He was filled with a deep and inexplicable longing to touch it but also repulsed by the sickening waves of horror it exuded. He wasn't sure whether to stay and find out what lay beyond its stoic face or turn and run as far from it as he possibly could. His fingers trembled as they ached to reach for its cold, solid surface but remained frozen at his side. Before he could make a decision another sound echoed from behind him like a whisper. He felt the soft presence of a person press up beside him, their aura thick and oppressive.

"Envy." The name was sighed heavily against his ear as though the person had been standing over him. He whirled around in a panic and heard the sinister voice laugh in the distance.

"Who's there?" his voice was unsteady. He hated the way it sounded so pathetically fearful like a whimpering child afraid of the dark. Why was he so afraid? What was there to fear in this barren wasteland? More whispers echoed through the blankness from every direction. They mumbled indistinctly but their tone was filled with malice and mirth. He clenched his fingers into fists, his uncontrollable fear quickly spiraling into a mask of anger.

"Who are you? _Where_ are you?!" his lavender eyes frantically scanned the bleak white, searching for any hint of motion or color. The blinding white was starting to make his eyes hurt as they scanned for the source of the sounds. "Show yourself coward!" he barked and the whispering stopped, the sounds dying into silence again. His heart beat furiously against his rib cage, adrenaline coursing through his body like fire in preparation to fight the unseen forces of this terrible place.

He caught a glimpse of color emerging from the sea of white, his violet eyes focusing on it intensely as he braced himself defensively.

"Envy?" A voice called out to him. An extremely familiar voice colored with a fear he had never believed he'd hear coming from the unbreakably cool, composed woman.

"Lust?" her tall, thin form was beginning to appear amongst the misty white. Her eyes were wide like marbles searching the emptiness just as frantically as his had been and her dark hair fell in disarray around her head contrasting drastically with her pale skin. She looked completely terrified

"Envy, help me! Please! Where am I? Please help me!"

"Lust!" He reached his hand out to her, desperate to touch her, to make sure she was real. His mind welcomed the sight of her familiarity, immediately associating her with safety. He took a step towards her, then another, until he was running towards her frightened figure but the more he ran the farther away she seemed to be. She suddenly vanished back into the mist and the temporary feeling of safety disappeared with her, leaving him feeling empty and alone again.

"No! Bring her back!" he shouted into the void, angry again as the cold claws of fear began to sink deeply into his bones. He sensed more than felt the presence of water and looked down to see a thin sheen of water now coated the entire floor of this place. Its surface was pristine, a perfect mirror reflecting back the white mist that was now starting to roll thickly through the void. He took a step forward, watching as his own reflection rippled in the water. "What is this place?"

That dark laugh echoed again as his own reflection suddenly began to rise from the water like a featureless white copy of himself. "This is the land of Truth, little Homunculus." he jumped back in shock as his doppleganger smiled ominously at him with too many teeth.  
"The Land of Truth..." he said breathlessly looking around again for a moment in awe and wonder before snapping his attention back to the creature in front of him "Who are you?" he growled through his teeth, narrowing his eyes.

"Some might call me the world. Or the universe. Or God. Or Truth. But all is one and one is all. So I am me but I am also you."

"Speak plainly monster!"

"Monster? I guess you could say that. I am you after all." the creature called Truth laughed as he ground his teeth together. "Oh do you not like that? No one ever likes to hear Truth especially when it is so plainly laid before them."

"Why am I here? I thought I was dead. How do I leave?"

"Tch. Tch. Tch. Why are you in such a hurry to leave? You've only just arrived."

"Answer my question."

"I guess it _is_ a good question. You can't stay here afterall..." Truth seemed to cock its head sideways in contemplation. "Even monsters can't live in the Land of Truth without their souls."

"I'm not a monster." he growled.

"You're perhaps the saddest monster of them all. Envy the Jealous. Jealous of the _humans_ no less."

"I'm not jealous of the pathetic humans! They are weak creatures. All of them! I'm not like them!" he hissed.

"It does no good to lie. You're only lying to yourself afterall."

"You don't know me."

"Don't I? Look at you. The humans think you're abominations. Unnatural creatures undeserving of love or life." It laughed. "Maybe they're right. How sad. So very sad."

"Shut up!"

"You want what they have so _very_ badly. Its the only thing you truly want. You crave it desperately. You want their love and adoration. You want family and friends who care. But you can't have any of that so you sought to destroy it. You think yourself so superior to them but really you're not any different."

"I'm a Homunculus. I _am_ superior to a human!"

"Perhaps in some ways. You _are_ stronger. Faster. More resilient."

"Better."

"But thats not why you think yourself so above them is it? No. Its because they don't accept you. But how could they? You can't even accept yourself. You're so deeply insecure. You want validation that you're life is worth something. You want them to love you, yo want you, to _envy_ you. But they don't. They can't. They're horrified by you, by what you are: the unloved abomination, a blight on the world, a horrific monster, unnatural, ugly. And that little voice in your head whispers 'Maybe its true. Maybe they're right.' Deep down you know they are. So if they won't accept you then you won't accept them. And what better way to justify your alienation then by controlling it yourself and becoming the monster they believe you are. Thats why you think you're better than them."  
"You don't know anything!" he spat with as much venom as he could muster his entire body trembling with anger at the creature Truth. He could feel the burning sting of tears behind his eyes but he choked them back stubbornly, refusing to let them fall. He would not show weakness to a creature like that. How dare this creature speak down to him like this, like it understood anything.

"I know _everything_ about you. I am Truth." Truth took a step towards him ominously. "And now it is time to decide what to do with you, little Homunculus. You are a creature of the Land of Appearances. Your body can not live here in the Land of Truth but you also can not pass through the Gate and face Judgement without a soul either."

"You don't know what you're saying! You know nothing!" he hissed vehemently. Truth cackled cruelly then took a step towards him and he couldn't stop himself from stepping back in fear, the facade of anger crumbling away. Truth continued towards him until he felt the cold smooth surface of the door at his back. It crackled with energy as he touched it sending him sprawling onto the floor on his hands and knees in the water. Suddenly it was like a thousand hands had swarmed to wrap tightly around his limbs, dragging his body down with crushing intensity. He struggled against their weight in a panic.

"I know everything. I am everything. I am Truth. You were once a part of the creature called Father but he is dead now and has since passed to face his Judgement. His soul left you behind you poor, sad creature. But you're not him are you? No. You're separate from him. You always have been. It is simply the Law of Entropy. You can not be recombined. Not truly. His Judgement is not your own. But your soul is not here and you can't wait for long. So what can be done with you?"

"Get off! Let go of me!" he strained wildly against the crushing heaviness as his body was pulled nearly flat to the ground. He kicked out senselessly, splashing and fighting as the hands tried to force his face down into the water.

"You hold yourself down." Truth said cooly.

"Why can't you give me one then?!" he forced his upper body up again against the crushing hands, teeth bared furiously at the creature. "If you _are_ God, if you are so powerful then why don't you just give me a soul?!" His eyes held a kaleidoscope of emotions as he stared wide eyed up at Truth with fury, fear, pain, panic, hope...

"You would like that, wouldn't you? That's not how this works, little Homunculus. I can not give you something you already have nor can I take something from you which you do not." His arms shook with the effort of trying to hold himself up.

"Some all powerful God you are. No wonder my Father wanted to dethrone you. You're useless!" he spat, his tone like acid as though the acerbic words could corrode the crushing disappointment he unexpectedly felt rising in him. The feeling didn't linger long, quickly replaced again by panic as the hands squeezed painfully tighter, dragging his body back down to the watery ground. "Stop!" He could feel a particularly forceful hand grab harshly at the back of his neck, shoving him down into the water. He flailed and struggled, as his mouth filled with cold water and his lungs suddenly burned for air, his head rushing with the blind fear of drowning despite its irrationality. He would've screamed if he could but there was no air. Water was quickly filling his lungs with a rushing heaviness like concrete. Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to take any more, the hand holding him loosened its grip infinitesimally letting him push his head up out of the water to gasp for air, choking and coughing and spluttering. He stared up at Truth with wild, round eyes, through the curtain of dark, wet hair now clinging to his face.

"You're not in control here, Homunculus." Truth laughed. "What an arrogant creature you are. You get a small speck of power and you think you own the world. You think you control it. You don't even know what that power is." Envy's body trembled in fear, a chill running down his spine as his own words were parroted back to him, unable to speak as he panted for air he never knew he needed. "You're so afraid aren't you? How does it feel? What are you more afraid of? Drowning? Burning? Or being alone?" The questions angered him as he burned again with the humiliation of being humbled by this evil creature and he growled low in his throat between labored breaths. He couldn't take this again. One crushing defeat was enough.

"Let go of me!" he threw himself angrily forward towards Truth like a rabid dog lunging to attack its handlers but the hands still clinging to his body kept him where he was.

"You're such a fascinating creature. I don't want to see your destruction just yet. You have much to teach and much to learn. You're fortunate you've shown me you _can_ learn and change. So unlike the Father you were created from yet so much the same..." Truth knelt down in front of him reaching out its hand to grab at his collar and pull him up closer, rescuing him temporarily from the hands trying to drown him. It didn't actually touch him but somehow it was like it had grabbed onto him like a vice. Water dripped down his face.

"Alright. You have a choice little Homunculus. A choice few are ever given. So listen closely because I'll only say it once. You want a complete soul? I'll give you one. Or at least a chance for one. But its a trade. There will be a cost. You know how it works. Equivalent exchange."

"What cost?" he narrowed his eyes furiously.

"The price of salvation is high."

"What cost?!" he spat angrily through his teeth.

"Do you accept?"

"I-"

"Of course you do." Truth let go of him, letting him fall flat to the floor again.

The thousands of small hands were suddenly pulling and dragging him back through the water towards the portal instead of down into the ground. He could hear the painful groan of the heavy doors as they slid open behind him and even more hands grabbed onto him.

"Be careful little Homunculus. Remember your time is borrowed. And you don't have a Philosopher's Stone this time around." It cackled . "You must find yourself. Only then will you be able to retrieve your soul."

All he could hear was the insane laughter of the creature called Truth as his body was pulled back through the crumbling portal and everything disappeared into blackness.

* * *

A/N: Ok so not exactly my best piece of writing but I kinda have this sort of loose idea for a story and I don't want to spend eons trying to get everything perfect. I'm going to just try to get the story out faster and then if I feel like it later I'll go back and add in more description and metaphors and distinct tone and try to smooth things out better. I'm also not entirely certain where I want to go with this story so I'll replace my crappy summary later when I've actually decided on more solid plot points.  
Anyway. This story is about the homunculus, primarily Envy because he's my favorite and little of Lust who didn't get a ton of character development. And now, that I've written some more in depth notes Greed too because I also really like him and there just aren't enough stories about the homunculus. Its just sort of about what would happen to the homunculus if they got a chance to possibly redeem themselves and maybe find the love and affection they need and crave. Right now its just me sort of playing with these characters in different situations and trying to figure out how they would react and behave. I haven't planned anything too terrible to happen just yet so for now rating is T but due to the darker nature my writing typically takes and my fondness of the word Fuck there's a pretty good likelihood it'll end up M. Just a warning.  
If you enjoy it please please leave me a note and let me know! I'm hoping at least one person reads this. This is the first time I've ever actually posted anything I've written in a public forum, so don't be too harsh... Thanks!  
\- ApostasyII


	2. Chapter 1: Awake

Desideratum  
by ApostasyII

Chapter 1: Awake

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Perfect clouds glided effortlessly across the peaceful shining of the blue sky. Ed stretched his arms up over his head and yawned, leaning back against the bench he sat on at the train stop. Just a few more train rides and he'd finally be home. After nearly three years of discovery and research in the West he was finally ready to return to Resembool and converge his findings with Al's. He'd learned much in his travels and couldn't wait to share some of his new discoveries with his brother. He'd been home to Resembool several times to visit Winry and Granny Pinako but never at the same time as Al. He and his brother had kept in contact through numerous letters and phone calls but this was the first time they'd all finally be together in years. He was excited to find out what his brother could do and what findings from Alkehestry he would bring back from Xing in the East and how they would connect with his findings in the West.

"Hello there, young man." A voice cut through his thoughts. "Would you mind if I sat here for a while?" Ed looked up to see the kind face of an older man smiling pleasantly at him.

"Not at all." he slid over to make room for the chipper elder man. His movements were slow and choppy as he settled carefully onto the bench then pulled a pipe from the depths of his jacket pocket and lit the end. He puffed thoughtfully on it for a moment then turned and reached his hand out.

"The name's Alaric Talered."

"Edward Elric. Nice to meet you." Ed reached out and shook the man's hand.

"Its such a lovely day out. Where are you headed?" he pulled the pipe away from his lips to blow out a long cloud of smoke.

"The next train that will get me to Resembool."

"Ah. Resembool. I hear its beautiful out there in the country."

"Yeah it is." Ed smiled thoughtfully.

"Made even more so by a special someone I bet? Mm?" he looked down over his nose at him with that knowing gleam in his eye that only the elderly teasing a young person about their love interest ever could

"Uh yeah something like that." he could feel his face starting to heat up and looked away, crossing his arms.

"Ah no need to be so shy. We all need someone we care about. Even the most wicked need someone to love them."

"I dunno about that."

"Eh everyone wants love. Its only human. Will you be passing through Central on your way there?"

"Probably. Its the stop with the most connections and the most direct route from here to Resembool."

"Ever been there before?"

"Yeah. I used to live out there. I was a State Alchemist."

"Wow." the man looked impressed. "You must be quite something to be a State Alchemist especially so young."

"You could say that. I'm not a state alchemist anymore though. I just do research on my own now."

"How interesting. What exactly are you researching?"

"I'm looking into new forms of Alchemy besides what's classically practiced in Amestris. I've been doing a lot of digging on Alkehestry."

"Alkehestry? What's that?"

"Its another form of Alchemy mostly practiced in Xing in the East. It can do a lot that Alchemy can't like be used to heal wounds."

"Wow! Well if you're an alchemist conducting research on medical uses you may want to go check out that new Biologics Institute for Innovative Technology and Research. They were set up as a specialized institution exclusively for alchemical research with medical applications. A sort of bio-alchemy subset. I hear they've got quite an interesting find down there."

"Oh?" An institution exclusively for medical alchemy? When did that happen? I wonder if they use forms of Alkehestry too. "What did they find?"

The man leaned closer to whisper surreptitiously. "You didn't hear this from me but they say they've got a doctor down there who may may have discovered something that resembles the Azoth."

"The Azoth?" Ed looked at him skeptically, brow furrowed with suspicion.

"So you've heard of it then?"

"Of course. Azoth is a legendary substance said to come from Philosopher's Stones. Its known as the Great Solvent, the Universal Cure, or the Elixir of Life. Its said to be the very life source which resides in all living beings. Its the substance which makes transmutation possible. It can unify any two substances no matter how contrasting and divide any no matter how strong. It is a 'synthesis of opposites'. It can cure any illness or stop any disease."

"They say they've got some down in that lab and they've been using it to to work their own private miracles."

"I've heard that before..." Azoth was closely related to Philosopher's Stones. It wasn't magic but it could probably still look to the untrained eye like miracle work. Ed wondered if someone was using a slight of hand to fool people again just like Liore years ago. Could someone really be looking into philosopher's stones again? Could someone even be trying to make them again? To make homunculus again? Or worse to bring back the homunculus that were dead?

"It might be worth checking out if that sort of thing interests you."

"Well, I guess I'll have to go see this mysterious elixir myself. Hopefully this great weather keeps up." He jumped up from the bench stretching his arms up over his head.

"I wouldn't count on it. The weather here can be rather unpredictable lately."

"It was nice talking to you Mr Talered. Thanks for the info!" He smiled and waved to the old man then turned back to head towards the train ticket booth. He had a few phone calls to make. _Winry and Al are going to have to wait just a little bit longer_.

"Bye kid. Make sure you get back home to that girl of yours. Don't leave her waiting too long..."

* * *

Black. Black was the only thing he knew. It closed in around him, pressing down on his consciousness like a heavy weight, the blank nothingness cocooning him into the comforting embrace of oblivion. It was warm and pleasant and he didn't want to leave its peace but a dull sound was slowly thrumming in his ears disturbing the serene slumber. The next thing he registered through the black haze was something cold and hard pressed up against his entire body. He quickly realized it must be the ground beneath him. He was lying face down on a dirty floor. His senses were slowly coming back to him. The only thing he could hear above the ringing in his ears was the faint buzz of an electric current and the steady drip of water as it leaked from pipes overhead onto pavement with a wet slap. The air was cold and filled with a dank, musty smell that suggested stagnant water had been sitting somewhere nearby for quite some time.

He was dead wasn't he? No that couldn't be true. He was aware. He could think, he could feel so he must be alive. Something had happened. A gate? Blank empty white? Something about truth and souls? He couldn't remember and it was making his head hurt. His eyes fluttered open and he pushed himself up off the ground to take in his surroundings, one hand pressed against the side of his head as he squinted through the darkness. There was very little light illuminating his surroundings and dark shapes blurred in and out of focus in the gloom. He could just make out the shape of long rusty pipes stretching out in front of him.

Was this Central? Yes it must be. There were long black scorch marks burned into the wall with blood spatter and the ground around him and the air still smelled faintly of ash and metal. This must have been the last place he had been. A sick feeling ran through him at the thought as memories started flooding back immediately. The last thing he remembered was the fire, the humiliation, a crushing defeat, ripping his own heart out in front of the alchemist runt and his gang of misfit toys... It was the most nightmarish death he could've imagined for himself. His body shook with anger that rose through it like a heat wave. The humiliation still burned through him more painfully then the fire. It shouldn't have happened. It was impossible. How? How had they been able to defeat _him?_ The Alchemist runt was going to pay and so was that damn colonel. As soon as he could find them he was going to hunt them down like the dogs they were for what they did. But he wasn't dead. There had been more. Something had happened after. Something about a white gate...pain throbbed fiercely in the back of his head.

A sound caught his attention through the darkness, a dull thrumming like footsteps followed by soft murmurs like whispers. People were coming. His hatred and anger immediately dissolved into fear. What if the Flame Colonel was coming back? He suddenly felt like a wounded animal lying exposed in the open here, sending the scent of blood into the air for predators to find him. He scrambled to his feet, eager to escape discovery. He stumbled and nearly fell back down immediately. He still felt disoriented, and his muscles felt weak and stiff with disuse as though he had been lying there for quite some time. He hastily straightened himself again, leaning one hand against the wall for support.

He tried to transform his body into something less conspicuous like a dog but as he reached for the energy to do so there was no familiar surge of power coursing through his body. He pushed again but was met with resistance as the cells stubbornly refused to change shape and the metallic taste of blood suddenly filled his mouth uncomfortably. He was so weak he could hardly control his own body, shifting wasn't an option right now. He fumbled clumsily down the long hall and melted into the darkness behind one of the thicker pipes running down the wall.

He could hear footsteps quickly approaching the place he'd been laying just moments earlier.

"I thought I heard something over here." A man's voice called out into the dark reverberating harshly through the long skinny hallway.

"What is it?" A second voice called. The beams of their flashlights arced around the room like missile beacons seeking their targets. A pipe groaned, quickly releasing a small stream of air with a hiss. Both people jumped and whirled around at the sound their lights illuminating each other for a moment. They were dressed in long formal blue coats with gold buttons and silver trim and thick black boots. Amestrian soldiers. Envy breathed a sigh of relief. Not the Flame colonel or the Fullmetal brat.

"Who's there?!" one of the soldiers yelled, his flashlight swinging around in a sudden wide sweep.

"Its nothing probably just a rat." his comrade reassured him though he didn't sound overly confident. He shown his light out down the isle again, the end of its beam edging closer to where Envy stood in the dark.

"What's this?" the soldier's light stopped at a spot where the floor was marred with little, shiny splotches of crimson. "Blood?" He walked closer to the spot, kneeling down and touching it with his fingers to examine it. He looked worriedly to his companion.

Envy touched one hand to his face then looked at it, surprised to see it sticky with dark red. He realized blood had poured earnestly from his mouth and nose and now coated his face and down his chest where it must have dripped onto the floor earlier. Well shit. When had that happened? He rubbed the back of his hand across his face.

I wouldn't worry about it. There's dried blood all over down here. This place is seriously creepy. I'll be glad when they stop making us patrol down here. Look at all this." he shown his flashlight down the walls which were scorched with burns and stained with dried spattered blood. "Its from the Flame Alchemist." They both stared in silent reverence at the gruesome scars.

"I feel sorry for the poor bastard who was the victim of all this."

"They say it was some monster. It had to die a hundred deaths before it would stay dead."

"That's probably just an exaggerated rumor. I don't know how anything could survive this." They both stared uneasily at the walls.

"C'mon let's go. Monsters like that could easily still be here lurking in the dark just waiting for a couple of sorry suckers like us to wander into their lair. And I'm certainly no Flame Alchemist. I couldn't kill a creature a hundred times."

"Let's get out of here."

heir voices faded away into the distance and Envy breathed a sigh of relief. He waited until their footsteps faded out into silence. The vertigo in his head was terrible and his legs were shaking with the effort of not falling, so he let himself slide to his knees then sat back on his heels. He leaned his head back against the cool metal of the pipes in the wall behind him and closed his eyes. His head must be injured somehow. That's probably why he couldn't shift. Head injuries were always such a pain in the ass to heal. They always took much longer to fix due to their more complex nature and even still often hurt for several days if not weeks after. He didn't understand why he was so useless.

Father would know what to do. He could fix this. He just needed to get up and find him. He grit his teeth together in determination forcing his eyes open again. He reached for one of the higher pipes above him then heaved himself to his feet again. The dark room spun dizzyingly for a minute but quickly righted itself and he started making his way forward down the long hallway. He just needed to get to Father. He just needed-

He faltered for a moment as a new thought occurred to him. Or would he be angry? Father would think he was weak. He'd let the Flame Alchemist nearly defeat him. Hatred burned through him. He hated the Flame Colonel even more for taking that away too. Father wouldn't be proud or understanding or sympathetic. He was going to be angry. He would punish him severely for this failure.

He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. No that wasn't right either. The Promised Day. It was here. Father was finally going to complete his transmutation circle and usurp God. That's why he'd been fighting Mustang. Father was busy... No... His mind felt like it was wading through mud. Everything was thick and foggy and his thoughts were clumsy. Another memory came back to him, fragmented and bleary, shooting painfully through his mind like lightning illuminating scant bits of memory before fading back into the confusion.

 _You were once a part of the creature called Father but he is dead now and has since passed to face his Judgement._

Father was dead.

There was no point in trying to find his way back to the underground atrium he'd once called home because Father would not be there. He was gone. The world suddenly felt like it was tilting again but this time it had nothing to do with the disorientation or distorted balance.

Father was dead.

He could hardly even process such a thought. No impossible. Father couldn't be defeated. He was invincible, omniscient, omnipotent. He was going to surpass God. He was better than God. His creations, his children, the Homunculus were far superior to all of God's creations. He was smarter, stronger, more powerful than God. His plan was going to succeed. He was going to rise and swallow the power of God himself to become the most powerful being in the universe! Everything was perfect. He couldn't possibly be defeated. He couldn't be dead!

So many emotions flooded through him he didn't know what to feel. He was angry with Father. He'd promised. He'd _promised._ He was going to tear apart this violent loathsome world of cowardly worms and build a _new_ one. One filled with his creations, the Homunculi. They weren't going to be alone anymore. There would be others like them. They would reign as superior beings in a superior world and the humans would become a relic of the past. How could that all be taken away! How could Father let the _humans_ take that away from them! From _him._ How could he let them win?!

A small part of him felt relief. Father had been his captor. He'd been his torturer for as long as he could remember. His lessons were harsh and his punishments ruthless. He'd never dare defy him. But without him...the things that had now been taken away...

It filled him with despair and hopelessness. A crushing pain of emptiness, of loss, of loneliness. He felt lost. What was he supposed to do now? He was alone. Completely and utterly alone. He had no purpose. What was the point of his life without Father's plan? Without the hope of their perfect Utopia? He couldn't be alone. How could Father leave him? Abandon him like this?!

"No!" he slammed his fist into the wall beside him, breathing sharply through his teeth. A sharp pain ran threw his hand and up his arm but he hardly registered the feeling. "No, no,no, no,no, no." He ran his fingers angrily through his hair in distress, tugging at the ends of it. "He can't be gone... he _can't..."_ he rubbed a hand down his face then hit the wall again. _"_ No damn it!"

No. Father had to come back. There had to be a way to bring him back. He refused to accept this. He was going to fix this. There had to be a way to bring Father back. There _had_ to be. He was going to find a way.

How could he do it? He couldn't exactly do alchemy himself...An alchemist would be the best way to start. He would go find one of the researchers from the third laboratory. They were trustworthy enough. He knew where several of them lived, in fact most of them were only a short walk from one of the exits to the underground tunnels. He picked himself up and, with renewed vigor, set off down the long hall towards the third laboratory.

* * *

He made his way out of the tunnels and into the coolness of the fall night air. He pulled the dark cloak closer around his body. He'd picked it up from one of the small store rooms in the tunnels where they'd often kept dark cloaks and other clothes to hide in the shadows with when leaving any of the buildings. All of the homunculi were rather conspicuous when looked at directly in plain sight and the dark clothing helped them sneak through the public unnoticed. Envy had, obviously, not had much use for it, being able to change his face, but was grateful for it now. He pulled the hood farther over his head to keep his face in shadow and kept his eyes down to not draw attention should someone see him.

He was walking through the shadows down a small secluded alleyway headed towards the main street. Old things littered the ground along with dirt and trash. It was a place no respectable person would be caught walking down especially at this time of night.

A man stood under one of the overhangs in the darkness of the shadows, arms crossed and one leg propped up against the wall behind him. He had an unkempt appearance with his shirt unbuttoned, no tie, and his hat tilted at an angle over his eyes. He was tapping his foot anxiously against the wall as he looked down at his watch, then took a swig from the bottle in his hand and peered nervously down the alley entrance.

Envy pulled the cloak tighter around his body, melting quietly in with the darkness. The alley was narrow and the man heard him approaching, shifty blue eyes suddenly following his movement. The man stopped jiggling his leg and let out a long whistle as he walked past him. Envy just ignored him. If things were normal he would have transformed one of his hands into a long blade and skewered the man where he stood like Lust or Pride would or at least turned and kicked the living shit out of him for being so disrespectful but his head still hurt with a piercing pain and the thought of moving too quickly made it hurt tremendously more. The human was lucky tonight.

"Hey there, where are you off to at this hour, darling?" The man suddenly began walking next to him, matching their strides. He obviously had assumed, likely from his small size, that he was a woman walking alone at night. Envy still didn't say anything but the fuse on his patience was quickly going to run out if the little bug didn't leave. He didn't have the time or energy to deal with obnoxious ants.

"Ooh the silent treatment. Playing hard to get? I just want to get to know you, that's all. Why don't you let me see your face, baby." The man reached out to try and brush the hood of the cloak back. Envy snarled at him and sidestepped away but the hood still fell back some anyways, revealing his face.

"What happened to _you_?" The man's face looked surprised for a minute but then quickly curled into a smile again. "You're awful pretty under all that blood aren't you sweetheart? Boyfriend hittin' ya?"

"Fuck off. I don't feel like dealing with you."

"Theres no need for language like that." he took another swig from his bottle. "C'mon darling, come with me. Let's go get some coffee at my house. I promise I'll treat ya real nice."

"You have three seconds to get out of my sight or I'll crack your skull against the wall like an egg and use your blood to decorate the ground like fingerpaint."

The man hesitated for a minute as though sensing the reality of the threat but the drink in his veins seemed to numb any sense of self preservation. "Oh. Fiesty. You're just words though. You're so small and fragile. You'd be easy to overpower. I doubt there's much you could even do if I decided to-"

In a sudden flurry of limbs the man was knocked backwards off his feet onto the ground. Before the man could even process what had happened Envy kicked him hard in the side. Headache be damned he was going to crush this insolent little worm.

"You cunt!" the man shouted trying to shield his face. "Do you know who I am?! Do you see this?!" The man pulled the hat from his head and pointed to the heavy lettered tattoos scrawled illegibly across his shaved head.

"I don't give a fuck what shitty group you belong to." Envy kicked him again.

"They'll come after you! They'll punish you for this!"

"After I'm finished with you maybe _I'll_ come after _them_." he hissed, standing threateningly over the man and angling his head in just the right way to make the low light reflect off the back of his eyes and shine red through the darkness.

"M-monster!" The man trembled in sudden fear and Envy wanted to laugh at how stupidly easy it was to frighten humans with something so simple.

"That's right. Now leave before my hands find their way around your neck."

A shimmer of silver suddenly flashed from nowhere. Envy put a hand up to try and catch the blade, but he was still a little slow and his fingers couldn't quite close fast enough. Instead of catching the blade it stabbed straight through his palm breaking through bone and tearing through tendons. He ignored the pain, expecting it would heal in a minute. If he could shift he might have turned into the man himself and watched in glee as the man had to grapple with the idea of stabbing himself. Instead he just laughed and tore the blade from out of his hand, letting the blood spatter out violently and drip down his fingers dramatically.

It didn't immediately occur to him what a grave miscalculation he had made until it was too late.

He watched as the man clambered to his feet in a panic and backed away then darted down the alley disappearing into the night. His hand was starting to burn like fire and he was immediately reminded of the sensation of burning alive. He shuddered away from the memory. Why was it hurting? He couldn't understand why this was happening. It should've healed by now. Even if his head was injured, a serious injury should have at least closed itself. It was one of the homunculi's strongest defenses; they could never bleed out. He brought his hand, now pulsing blood thickly into the black gloves around his wrist, up in front of his face. The black cloth wasn't particularly absorbent and was quickly starting to become saturated and heavy streams of red were starting to drip down his forearm. He tried to see what damage had been done, by slowly uncurling his fingers and immediately regretted it.

His entire body went rigid from the action and sweat immediately beaded on the back of his neck. His vision tunneled like black shrinking down around his surroundings until the only thing he could see was the blood spitting out of his hand concerningly quick.

He distantly heard the voice of another person calling out but he was too preoccupied with this predicament to take note.

It _hurt._ Why did it hurt?! Damn it, it fucking _hurt!_ That simple action of moving one finger was enough to bring him to his knees on the ground. It hurt so much he could barely think of anything but the pain. He cradled his hand to his chest, squeezing instinctively at the base of his wrist with the opposite hand. This didn't make sense. His body was supposed to regenerate itself. He was a _homunculus_. He was supposed to be immune to pain like this. Why couldn't he heal himself!?

Another memory suddenly came flying back to him.

 _You don't have a Philosopher's Stone this time around._

Damn it.

No Philosopher's Stone meant no more regeneration. It wasn't the homunculi's own intrinsic abilities which allowed them to regenerate, it was the Philosopher's Stones at their core. Pain truly _hurt_ now. It hurt _so_ much more than it should have. Why wouldn't the pain stop? Is this how the mortals felt? Their pain lasted longer than just a few seconds initially? This was horrible. The agony was relentless and unending. No wonder they could hardly stand to be toyed with.

This was so humiliating. So pitiful. How could these little worms get the better of him so easily? It made him angry, filling him with a renewed hatred for the despicable creatures. As if he needed more reason to hate them. He could suddenly feel the metallic taste of blood gathering in his mouth again. He spit it onto the ground in frustration then leaned his back against the wall trying to catch his breath.

He stared down at the bleeding hole in his hand, trying to decide the best thing to do about it. He'd never really been injured before and he had no idea what he was supposed to do to get it to stop bleeding or to heal. He heard a voice again and nearly startled as he noticed a woman suddenly rushing towards him to kneel down in front of him.

Are you okay? Let me help you. I'm a doctor." her voice was gentle but held a note of urgency and alarm to it. She held her hand out as if expecting him to offer his own injured one to her.

He stared at the woman blankly from underneath the hood of the cloak. She was peculiar. She was covered in a ridiculous amount of dirt like a common laborer though, oddly, she was dressed professionally. Her mousy brown hair was a mess, falling from its pins and tangled wildly around her shoulders. She wasn't particularly beautiful, at least not classically, but she was pretty enough to get by. Her round eyes were a pale shade of icy blue placed slightly too close together but they held a calm, softness to them. There was a strange energy to her like the glimmer of a buried diamond catching the light and shimmering for a moment against dirt.

She mistook his silence for fear. "Its okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a doctor. I'm from the Institute. I just want to help." her voice was kind and her face open and honest. It irritated him. He hated that this dumb little human was here to witness his weakness, to mock it.

"I heard you the first time." he spoke coldly and condescendingly and her face fell a little.

"Oh." she looked slightly put off. "Well here let me look."

She reached out to try and pry his hand away to examine it. He was about to yell at her not to touch him and to leave him alone or go away but she already had her fingers around his wrist, pulling it away from his chest.

The moment her fingers touched him he felt an immediate, inexplicable sense of intense calm rush through him like a wave clearing every feeling away and leaving behind only a tranquility in its overwhelming recession. The feeling of peace was so intoxicating he immediately forgot his anger and the retort died on his tongue.

"Ok." he muttered quietly, if not just a little uncertainly. He couldn't explain why he'd suddenly lost his resolve but he found himself letting her unfurl his hand. She smiled gently then very softly reached out to hold his arm and begin examining it. The pain seemed to dull under her fingers. For once he didn't feel the need to fill the quiet space with words. He just sat quietly, letting this strange girl look closely at his hand. She was extremely gentle, turning it carefully this way and that as she looked at it.

"What's your name?" she asked gently. He had no idea why but for some bizarre reason he trusted her and decided to be honest. She'd already seen his true face, what difference did it make if she knew his name too?

"Envy."

Envy?" she repeated skeptically with a brow raised. "That's a strange name."

He should have been offended but he he just stared at her as though dazed. The sense of calm she brought with her was almost like a sedative inhibiting him from thinking right.

"Sorry I didn't mean to sound rude. My name is Dr. Claraline Hegel. But you can call me Clara if you want." She wrapped her small fingers around his wrist, pinching hard over two spots on either side which immediately slowed some of the flow of blood from his hand. "Well that's a pretty good cut you got there isn't it?" she smiled lightly. "Lucky for you I think I can fix it well enough. Will you let me?"

He nodded his head demurely. "Ok. Good." She reached her free hand deep into her pocket and pulled out a folded up white silk scarf. It was covered in little black markings and symbols which vaguely resembled transmutation circles. She carefully wrapped it lightly over the wound in his hand then wrapped and tied it tightly around the base of his wrist where her fingers had been. He watched the blood bleed into the silk, marring the delicate material like ink stains across butterfly wings. She was extremely careful not to force his hand any direction or to harshly touch anywhere near the wound itself. She then placed one of her hands softly around his injured one, the other grasping his wrist. She rounded her fingers and touched them together like she was holding a sphere around his hand. She pulled her fingers apart and as she did a small blue light appeared, and with it came the familiar feeling of flesh knitting back together and the disappearance of much of the pain.

"There. That should hold for now. I've temporarily stopped the bleeding and roughly closed it but it'll need more work to fix it properly. Can you stand?" He nodded again. She put a hand under his elbow and tried to help pull him up. She had no idea that she really wasn't capable of helping at all but he didn't say anything, still drunk on her intense calm. Once he was back on his feet she let go of him completely, her hands falling away and breaking the strange spell of tranquility.

His anger flared back to life again immediately, the desire to hold his tongue disappearing with it. He was angered by whatever witchcraft this was that had manipulated his thoughts so easily.

"What did you do?! Don't touch me!" he hissed at her, snapping his hand back against his chest protectively, and backing away.

"Ok, ok, I'm not. Whatever you want. All I did was temporarily close the wound. Its just a little bit of Alchemy." she held her hands up non threateningly.

"That was _not_ Alchemy! Tell me what you did!"

"Ok, yeah technically you're right. Its not _exactly_ Alchemy but its very similar. I promise it won't hurt you. Its a new technique for healing. Its already helped a lot of people."

"What are you talking about?"

"Its based around an ancient form of energy channeling called hermetics. It has very sound scientific support. It's the result of research from the Institute. I know its probably not what your used to seeing but I promise you its very good. You don't need to be afraid of it."

A new form of alchemy? Ancient energy channeling? Her answers were only leaving more questions. What _was_ she talking about?!

"The Institute?" She seemed to mistake his confusion for distaste.

I know thats probably not the thing to say to get you to trust me. Most people don't like the Institute. But I assure you we're _not_ conducting human transmutation experiments down there like everybody thinks. We're _just_ conducting medical research. Everything that comes out of the Institute is real research. Its very safe. There's no reason to be mistrustful."

Was that all this was? New medicine he just didn't understand? He'd certainly never experienced anything quite like whatever it was she had done and her words didn't make him trust her any more. In fact it made him more suspicious. He most assuredly decided he did _not_ like this new form of alchemy she used. It made him wary, the way she had so quickly been able to alter his thoughts. But perhaps it was just as she said. Unfamiliar energy. His wariness must have shown on his face because she sighed and spoke again.

"Look, I know you don't trust me or the Institute and that's ok but please give it a chance before you decide to go off and tell everyone you know how awful it is. I've tacked your hand together and it will hold temporarily but you're still going to need more serious medical care to completely fix it. You can go to someone else if you really want but I can do it for you completely, free of cost, if you'll just come with me..."

He looked down at his injured hand. She was right. She'd stopped the serious bleeding but only just. There was still a thick, ugly gash in his palm through the back of his hand. He tried to move his fingers but to his great dismay he couldn't move them at all. He needed her to fix this.

"I don't like what you just did. Don't _ever_ try to do that again. You're going to fix this. And _no_ alchemy." he growled at her.

"Ok that's fine. I have better equipment in my office." she took a step back, seeming to shrink down from his harsh tone, eyes sinking to the floor. "Sorry. I don't need to use any sort of alchemy if we can go there." she mumbled. "C'mon. This way." She gestured towards the road then turned to lead him down the alley through the darkness.

* * *

A/N: That turned out way longer than I anticipated. In the future chapters are probably not going to be as long as this one because its way too massive to edit. Anyway, I rewrote this like a bazillion times and I could still keep rewriting it over and over to make it better but I'm spending way too much time and I just need to move on to the next piece. Hope you enjoy it. If you do please write me a quick review even if its just a :) if you like it. And thank you so so much PeytonHelix for being the first to review. I deeply appreciate it.

Thanks!  
-ApostasyII


	3. Chapter 2: The Institute

Desideratum  
by ApostasyII

Chapter 2: The Institute

* * *

Storm clouds started to gather on the horizon, thunder rumbling far in the distance as they walked down the darkened streets of central. They were close to the heart of the city however the streets were empty due to the late hour. During the day it was probably filled with people and light and sound as they mulled about their mundane daily lives. But now, in the dark of the night, it was silent and quiet, windows shut tight and doors locked against the shadows that prowled in the darkness. It gave the street an eerie feel though such things never really bothered him. He belonged in the darkness with the monsters and scary things that roamed while people slept. It was the woman who seemed so out of place with her pleasant energy and misplaced trust.

He took the time to examine her more closely. There was absolutely nothing special or remarkable about her. She was small, about the same height as him, if not just slightly taller, and mostly plain. Her features weren't harsh and were easy to look at but not striking or even memorable in any way. Her body was thin, but soft, and lacking in any sort of strength. She clearly never did any sort of labor. Her hair was a dull shade of very unexceptional brown and fell in messy waves where pieces randomly escaped from their pins. Her skin was light but not overly pale and held a warm, slightly rosy tone to it. Overall she was just exceptionally average. Even her clothes were common, covered in commoner filth, though they shouldn't be if she were some fancy doctor. He wondered why that was.

"Hey, why are you so dirty?" he said the words harshly like a criticism. She looked down at her clothes with confusion as if surprised to notice just how dirty and dusty they had become. She brushed some of the dirt from her sleeves.

"I... went for a walk." her voice was monotone and her eyes seemed to fog over as she said it as though she were speaking automatically without thinking about it.

In the middle of the night? Are you dumb? Even I know you shouldn't traipse around dark city alleys at odd hours. Its dangerous." his voice was filled with condescension tinged with a malicious amusement. She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I know. It is. Clearly." she nodded towards his hand. "But I needed some air to clear my head. And usually those guys leave Amestrians alone. As long as you don't look foreign they won't normally do anything. I'm surprised one came after you at all. Do you know them?"

"No."

"Hm. That's odd then." she thought contemplatively for a moment and they lapsed into silence again for several moments before she spoke again. "How does your hand feel? Does it still hurt? I can try to do something else if it-"

"No. I don't need anymore of your strange witchcraft."

"It's not witchcraft." she sounded offended.

"Fine. 'Alchemy'." he rolled his eyes at her.

"Its a science. Its not magic or anything ridiculous like that."

"I don't care what it is. I don't want it."

She sighed. "If you'd give it a chance you might actually be surprised. Hermetics is based on similar principles as alchemy. It works off the idea that all things in the universe are connected by a single will. The All. The All is the mind of the universe and it connects every living thing together. There are vibrational strings that create a connection between these creatures and the All. If you resonate these strings at different frequencies you can alter their state. Its very much like the alchemy you're probably more familiar with."

"Like I said. Don't care."

"Well you should. Its going to revolutionize medicine as we know it. Its going to change the way we try to solve complex problems."

"Oh? So you're going to _change the world_. Is that it?" he laughed, his tone mocking. "How naieve."

"I know it sounds absurd to say out loud but this really is groundbreaking work. What we're doing is important. Its-oh my god." she stopped speaking as they rounded the corner to the street where the rubbled remains of the Fifth Laboratory had once stood. In its place was now a large angular building covered in large picture windows. It had sleek edges and shining steel embellishments which lent it a futuristic feel. It was a beautiful building. Or at least it would have been if it weren't for the shattered glass and splintered wood that littered the side of the building with rubble where the roof had collapsed in one of the farthest corners, smoke now billowing up in a thick column. A small group of people were gathered together just outside the devastation: a handful of scientists in white lab coats and a tall blonde alchemist in street clothes who had clearly helped to put out the fire and was now trying to roughly repair the building.

Clara ran forward towards the group.

"Hey wait!" Envy trailed behind her in the shadows, not wanting to lose her.

"Dr Chymes!" she called out.

"Clara! You're alive! We were all so worried." She had run straight to one of the men in lab coats. He was an older man in his late forties, reminiscent of a sloppier, grumpier Dr Marco. He had shaggy dark hair peppered with a mess of gray and large round spectacles that framed hard steel blue eyes. He had a stern countenance. He immediately embraced the small woman, a look of relief crossing his features. "You were head of the project. I though you'd been caught in the blast." Envy watched the interaction with a bored and unimpressed expression, trying to refrain from rolling his eyes. Humans and their ridiculous sentiment. Vomit.

"No. I was home. What happened?!" he let her go then turned to one of the younger scientists in a lab coat.

"Go tell Ehric and the others we found Clara and that she's alright." The younger man nodded then turned to walk toward the Alchemist working on the building. He turned back to Clara "I don't know. I was just finishing up some work in my office when I heard the evacuation alarm go off. Then there was this horrible bang like a massive gun shot and the whole building was shaking. I ran outside and half the building had collapsed. Thank God Ehric happened to have stayed late after his meeting. If he'd gone home when he was supposed to we wouldn't have had an Alchemist so close to put out the fire so quickly. Wait where are you going?!" she'd started to rush forward towards the building.

"My research!" he grabbed her shoulders trying to pull her back. Envy wanted to laugh. What a foolish human. Running straight towards the danger rather than away from it. Its like she _wanted_ to be the victim of some horrible accident.

"Clara no! Its too dangerous right now. You can't go in there."

"But-" her eyes were large and round with concern.

"Your research is probably fine. It was kept in those big filing cabinets. We'll look for it in the morning."

"But what about the Project?!"

"I'm sure the Project is fine too, Clara. It doesn't matter. Right now we need to just let Ehric do what he can to stabilize the building and make sure no one else was hurt. Do you know if anyone else was supposed to be in the building?" her shoulders seemed to deflate like a balloon with no air.

"No. I was the only one in there all day."

"Good. The Director is _not_ going to be happy but at least no one should be hurt."

Envy cleared his throat behind her, trying to remind her he was still there. He didn't like being ignored.

"Oh!" she whirled around, looking at him as though just remembering he was there. "I'm so sorry."

"Who is this?" Dr Chymes noticed him for the first time looking him up and down skeptically.

"Dr. Chymes, this is Envy." she gestured to him and he cringed. It had been _really_ stupid to tell her his name. Why had he done that? He was never that careless. He knew better than that. Now she was going to blab it to everyone. He sighed internally. He supposed he'd probably have to kill her then when he got the chance.

"He was attacked by some guy in an alley near my house. His hand is pretty messed up. I thought we'd be able to help him but...my research..." she trailed off wistfully looking helplessly towards the collapsed roof.

Dr Chymes sighed. "Clara, we've talked about this. We're not a hospital. This research is untested. We don't know what could happen. You can't just bring people in from the streets-"

"But he was hurt so badly and there was something I was able to do. How could I not do it?" she looked sheepish like a reprimanded child but her voice still held a firm note of conviction to it.

"Let me see what you've done then." he held his hand out to Envy who offered his injured hand to him silently. The man turned his hand gently and examined it just as she had earlier. He brought it close to his face then frowned and looked up at Envy with a speculative gaze.

"Sorry, I don't mean to worry you but this isn't going to be an easy fix." he sighed then looked back to Clara. "You didn't do this right." Great. So she was a moron too.

"I wasn't trying to fix it I was just trying to stop it from getting worse temporarily until I could get him here. I would never leave a patient only tacked together," she sounded offended.

"Hm. I see." he gave an exasperated huff then pinched the bridge of his nose stressedly. "Alright." he let go of Envy's hand. "We'll take him down to my lab and we'll try to do what we can. But seriously Clara, after this no more stragglers from the street."

"Thank you Dr Chymes." Clara smiled brightly then gestured for him to follow her.

* * *

Ed sat under the dim, yellowed spotlight from a streetlamp at the train station in Central waiting patiently for his ride to come pick him up. The hour was late now. The platform was empty and all the ticket booths were closed and locked for the night. He'd caught the last train to Central and it had only just squeaked into the station a little past 10:30 pm. After the scant passengers disembarked, the train employees shut down the engines and quickly scattered. Now it was quiet but for the faint buzzing of the street lights and the gentle flapping of moth wings as they gathered under the sparse lighting

He'd given Mustang a call earlier in the day hoping to ask him for more information about the new Biologics Institute the man at the previous stop had told him about. He hadn't answered the phone but his secretary had been more than helpful, offering to send him an escort to pick him up and arrange him a place to stay with the promise of delivering his message to Mustang as soon as he was in. Ed had agreed and was now waiting for said escort to pick him up. The wind kicked up, sending a cool breeze with the damp scent of rain, a promise of a storm soon to come. Ed hoped his ride would get there before it could start raining.

It wasn't long before a dark, unmarked model T was pulling up to the station, a familiar face grinning from behind the wheel.

"Hey Havoc." Ed grinned back, pleased to see his old friend again.

"Hey Fullmetal. Long time no see. Hop in." Havoc smiled behind his cigarette and gestured to the passenger seat beside him. Ed tossed his suit case into the back then jumped into the passenger side and slammed the door shut.

"How are your legs treatin' you? Still work?" Havoc threw the car into gear and pulled out onto the road, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them.

"Oh hell yeah. Like a dream. I think they work even better than they did before Dr Marcoh fixed 'em up with that stone. Its crazy! I can still hardly believe it myself."

"I'm glad to hear it. Find yourself a new girl yet?" Havoc laughed.

"I did. And let me tell you she is _hot!_ She's smart. She's Strong. She's sexy." hearts throbbed in his eyes as he spoke like an excitable child. "She's Drachman. Long brown hair and big chocolate brown eyes that just melt your heart right down to your toes. _And_ she's going to school to be a nurse. She's the whole package: brains and beauty."

"Just so long as she's actually a human being and not some immortal monster trying to seduce secrets out of you."

"Don't worry I learned my lesson: Don't trust a woman who can grow an eight foot spear out of her hands. A homunculus is not the kind of woman you put a ring on. Speaking of rings...have you given one to a certain Miss Rockbell yet?"

"Oh... well...uhm..I..." Ed scratched at the back of his head uncomfortably, face immediately turning red.

"Haha what are you waiting for? A girl like that waitin' on you? Man, I would be all over that if it was me."

"There-ah- there's no hurry."

"Just don't wait too long. Women get impatient and you don't want to ruin a good thing because of fear. Trust me. You have to live in the moment. You never know when your world could change..." Havoc's expression became somber for a second.

"I'm not afraid. Its just not a good time right now." Ed crossed his arms and gave an angry huff. Havoc laughed lightly.

"Don't worry, kid, I won't harass you about it too much."

"Hey I'm not a kid!"

"Whatever you say."

He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and blew out a long stream of smoke then reached behind him and tossed a thin file folder onto Ed's lap. He shoved the cigarette back into his mouth, talking around it "That's the file Mustang's got on that Biologics Lab. BIITR or whatever they call it."

"BIITR..." Ed opened the file and started flicking through the sparse pages.

"Yeah. Biologics Institute for Innovative Technology and something or other. Pretty creepy place if you ask me."

"There's hardly anything here." Ed leafed through the handful of papers as if looking for more pages to appear.

"Yeah, it just opened a couple of months ago. Sort of just appeared, practically overnight."

"Have you ever been there?"

"No. Its not open to the public and they're not exactly big fans of the military over there. Anytime a military officer goes down to ask questions they get pretty tight lipped and start shutting all the doors and windows."

Ed flipped back to the first page of the file, a military cover sheet detailing the file's contents and began reading.

" _The Biologics Institute for Innovative Technology and Research (BIITR) is a privately funded medical research lab owned and operated by Mr Marques Avery Cavel. The purpose of the lab is to study and implement new bio alchemy techniques as they apply to the study of medicine. BIITR claims to be a humanitarian organization dedicated to the improvement of medicine and the betterment of society. They have a license to operate as a business under State filing 2423-127A as of February 7 in the year 1919. BIITR is headquartered and located in the fifth district of Central over former State Laboratory 5."_ Ed pulled the paper away and stopped reading, looking to Havoc with surprise.

"This says it was built over the Fifth Laboratory."

"Yeah, it is. The government has been auctioning off pieces of federal land in Central to earn money to fund more repairs in Ishval. Naturally, the decimated Fifth Laboratory land was one of the first pieces to go up for sale. Seemed like a pretty useless plot of land to me, more work to clear it out than its worth. Plus the serious stigma attached to it what with all the rumours about the chimeras and human experiments. Not to mention its prime real estate right next to a prison. Initially there were a few corporate factory developers interested but they were majorly outbid by this multimillionaire heir no one has ever heard of who came in and was willing to pay a pretty hefty price tag. Bought the land for _way_ more than its worth."

"I can't believe the government would be willing to sell that land at all. What about all those tunnels and passages underground?"

"Mustang sealed up all the ones we could find. The ones under Lab 5 were pretty destroyed all on their own though. He still sends patrols out everyday to keep them from being rediscovered and to make sure they aren't going to collapse. Its terrible work. There's a really bad energy down there and its super dark. A lot of blood too. I can only imagine the terrors of the creatures who lived down there. But for the most part I'd say its pretty safe. Mustang wouldn't let it sell if he didn't think it would be fine."

"I still think it was a bad idea." he flipped through more of the pages in the file. It contained a copy of the business license, a receipt for the deed, a thin contract, and a few more pieces of military paperwork used for administrative purposes. "There just isn't much here to go on. Is this really all you have?"

"Like I said, the place just opened and the military isn't exactly welcome to be snooping around down there. They haven't done anything illegal yet so we have no way to get anything else out of them without overstepping our bounds and infringing on their rights."

"Well the military may want to start getting a little more involved. I heard a rumor they think they've got Azoth."

"Azoth? Isn't that an alchemy thing? I thought it wasn't real..."

"Yeah. Its closely related Philosopher's Stones. Its powerful stuff. Supposedly can be used to heal any ailment"

"Philosopher's Stones? Not this shit again. If its true that is definitely disturbing."

"Hey Havoc do you think we could drive past there? I just want to lay eyes on the place and try to get a feel for it. Something about this all just doesn't sit right with me."

"Sure, why not. Its dark out so no one will probably be there and you won't be able to see much but if it makes you feel better we can drive past it. And its pretty close to headquarters so its really not out of the way."

"Thanks."

"Sure thing."

* * *

Envy stood in the middle of a large lab room while Clara and her companion began hurriedly pulling supplies from one of the small store rooms that was connected to the main room. The walls were covered completely in metal shelves lined with neat rows of different liquids in glass jars. Glass tubes and beakers covered the counter space along with stacks of papers. A chalkboard against the farthest wall was scribbled on with various jumbles of chemical equations and alchemic diagrams. He squinted his eyes at the jumble of numbers and frowned then reached out and ran his thumb down the board, erasing a few of the exponents and smudging some of the letters. He smiled to himself in amusement then moved on.

He walked the length of the room, running his finger over the fronts of the jars aimlessly as he did, eyes scanning disinterestedly up and down the various odd containers. He wasn't exactly an expert on Alchemy, Father had only ever taught them what was necessary and relevant to their plan, so bottles and equations meant little to him or his understanding of what they were doing. He flipped nonchalantly through some of the loose papers on the counter. More scribbles of chemicals and numbers and geometric shapes and...wait. He flipped back a few pages to a small transmutation circle that had caught his attention. It was a familiar shape, drawn neatly in thick black ink on a page of slightly yellowed parchment that didn't seem to match the pristine white of the other pages. He knew exactly what _this_ transmutation circle was for...

Interesting. So they were recycling some of Father's research. He wondered which disloyal dog had handed over their work. He heard the store room door shut and snapped his attention away from the pages as though he hadn't been looking at them at all.

"Hey." Clara had reentered the room, a metal tray carrying a variety of sharp, industrial looking medical tools in her hands. She set the tray down onto a table in the center of the room and motioned for him to come over to her. "Come sit."

He bristled at the command, issued by a human, but still did as she said nonetheless. She pulled out two stools from under the lab table and had him sit on one beside her with his hand stretched out on the table between them.

"What is all this?" He asked as she picked up a suture needle to thread.

"Its a biomedical research lab." she spoke without thought and he was irritated by such an obvious answer, as though she were being intentionally obtuse.

"And? What do you research here?"

"The work here specifically focuses mostly on applied applications of tetrahedral transmutation on biological senescence and epigenetics. "

"Oh." that answer still didn't give much clarity. "Senescence? You mean like aging?

"Yes." her answer was curt and she didn't offer further explanation.

"What about you? What do you work on?"

"Me?" she gave a worried glance over at Dr Chymes, who was still rummaging through a cabinet a few feet away, chewing on her lower lip nervously for a moment. "Oh I work on a couple of different projects. Mostly related to a project on something called the Azure stones. I'm trying to find a universal cure for common ailments."

"What's an Azure stone?" she looked over her shoulder once more then leaned slightly closer, lowering her voice but a sparkle of excitement lighted her features.

"Well it was once thought to be a myth. They're referenced in several ancient texts found in the Eastern desert as a mystical blue stone which cries the tears of Truth. It was said that if a human were to drink the tears of an Azure Stone they could see truth and gain the wisdom to grant miracles. It could heal any injury or illness and even bring people back from the dead..."

"Bring people back from the dead? That sounds like a childish story to me." A small part of him dared to flicker with hope. Bring people back from the dead? That's exactly what he needed. But logic told him such a solution couldn't possibly exist.

"It does." she admitted. "However myths have a way of twisting something based in reality into something strange and fantastic. I do believe these stones actually exist, they just aren't exactly what legend proclaims them to be. In fact I believe the Xerxians may have even possessed one. They're very powerful but unstable to work with, highly unpredictable, and prone to random energy spikes. Actually I have this theory about why Xerxes may have fallen. I think they may have been trying to utilize the power of an Azure Stone but been unable to contain it and instead been destroyed by its power."

Envy stared at her for a moment, blinking, then threw his head back and laughed. What an idiot. Apparently the Pipsqueak hadn't told anyone about what he'd learned of the true downfall of Xerxes, otherwise she was extremely uninformed. This woman was chasing specters in the dark. She didn't even know the truth of her own history.

"You're naiveté is unbelievable. What makes you think such a thing even exists?"

"Because we found it." He stopped laughing.

"What do you mean?" the smile dropped from his face settling into something much darker and more intense.

"Well... we may have found-"

"I think you've said plenty Clara." Dr Chymes gave her a stern look over his spectacles as he came to sit down on the stool beside her.

"Yes Dr Chymes." she shut her mouth and hunched her shoulders over her work eyes immediately drawn back down.

"Wait. What do you mean you've found one?"

"Its not really any of your concern." Dr Chymes gave him a suspicious look. "Now. About your hand-"

"No. What do you mean you _found one_?" he spoke aggressively threw his teeth.

"Its just research. It doesn't matter now because its probably gone. The building over there was blasted to pieces. I'm sure its been destroyed. So really it is not your concern. It can't help you. Now please." He sounded exasperated. "Sit down and let us work on this."

"I don't think so." He hadn't realized he'd stood up but it was much to his advantage as he reached across the table and pulled a scalpel from the tray. With almost inhuman speed he had his arm around Dr Chymes' neck and the scalpel blade pressed threateningly against his jugular as he pulled him backwards off the chair and onto the floor. The man was significantly larger than him in size so he forced him down onto his knees as he stood over him.

"What are you doing?! Ah!" Dr Chymes was taken completely by surprise wrapping his large hands around the thin, strong arm snaked around his throat.

"Listen up old man, one of you is going to tell me where exactly that stone is."

"You're insane! What's wrong with you?! We're trying to help you!"

"Well you're not being particularly helpful but you could start by telling me what I want to know."

"Clara do something!"

"I-I..." Clara stood frozen in horror beside them, eyes widened in shock.

"Don't. Don't do anything at all or I'll slice his throat and it will be your own fault. Now tell me. Where's the stone?"

"Th-the stone is gone." her voice sounded weak. "We don't have it anymore. It was...stolen..."

"By who? Who took it?"

"I don't-"

"Who has it now?"

"I don't know! Just please let him go. Don't hurt him."

"That answer's not good enough, little girl. You've got one more chance to rethink your answer or else." he pressed the blade harder against his neck. "Tick tock tick tock. Speak now or his blood is on your hands."

"I-I-I.." she looked terribly close to fainting.

The door was suddenly shoved open forcefully and a familiar face strode into the room.

"Aha! Found you!"

* * *

A/N: Oh look an update! I finally decided to actually sit down and make a more definitive outline for this and it sort of spiraled out of control into this massive document with a bunch of complex arcs. So hopefully I don't confuse myself or anyone else with too many storylines. I'm trying to be really clear about writing distinct points but I may start trying to jam too much information into one place. So if I get too unclear or confusing let me know so I can try to fix it.  
So to summarize this chapter: The biologics institute is a strange and suspicious place. Claras involved in some pretty weird research. Everyone there is very secretive (except Clara...seems she's got kind of a big mouth...). Oh yeah and Envy's a little bit of a psychopath but we already knew that. At least he hasn't stabbed anyone yet...  
Thank you thank you thank you to the Guest(s) who reviewed you seriously made my night. It makes me so happy to see people reading what I write and actually taking an interest. So please, please review if you're enjoying this.

Thanks!  
ApostasyII


	4. Chapter 3: Central

Desideratum  
By Apostasy II

Chapter 3: Central

* * *

Dark purple clouds rolled in angrily over Central cloaking the city in darkness like a thick blanket across the sky. Thunder clashed loudly, crying the first sparse tears of a storm onto the pavement. A chill wind kicked up cutting across the courtyard of the ominous Institute. The sharp building sat nestled into the industrial space between two plain brick buildings like the charred, half dead skeleton of a giant, black monster picked clean by vultures against the landscape. The entire street was shadowed in darkness, no light illuminating the night from the extinguished block of street lamps.

A loud thud echoed across the desolate space intruding into the still air as two car doors slammed shut. Ed and Havoc walked carefully up to the silent building, necks craned back to stare up at its imposing face.

"Well, this is it. The Biologics Institute." Havoc held his arms out in introduction.

"What happened to it?" Ed frowned, eyes roving the fractured half of the once elegant building. He took in the destroyed half of the structure, strewn together with a fragile framework of charred beams and bits of broken plaster strung together like melted candle wax.

"No idea. Looks like a bomb went off though."

"No kidding."

"Whatever it is it must have just happened. The air even smells like smoke still."

They edged closer to the building until Ed could put his hand against the front wall. His fingers trailed over the rough exposed beams until they faded into the pristine surface of the unblemished half. Little lifted edges and striated rectangular marks along the gradient told a story of hasty repairs made haphazardly with alchemy. It was even still warm with dissipating energy, little puffs of steam rising off it as raindrops started to patter against it.

A flickering shadow caught Ed's attention out of the corner of his eye. What looked like a tall figure in a long dark coat was silently sneaking around the far corner of the building. Ed narrowed his eyes in suspicion then immediately set off towards the corner in pursuit of the figure.

"Where are you going?" Havoc followed quickly behind.

"I thought I saw-" Ed was suddenly knocked backwards as he rounded the corner and ran headfirst into a person.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" he looked up from his place on the ground.

"Woah. Sorry about that." The man in front of him was tall but certainly not suspicious. He had on normal clothes and a light tan colored jacket with the name 'Ehric' stitched on the front. He had long, windswept blonde hair and soft mauve colored eyes which bespoke of a quiet, gentle nature. He held his hand out to help him up. Ed accepted it and let the tall man pull him back up his feet. "I wasn't paying attention. Sometimes I just run right over the short people when I'm not looking."

"Wha-who are you calling short?!" Ed's temper suddenly flared to life. The man didn't seem bothered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Everyone's short to me. Sorry again."

"Don't worry about it." Havoc grabbed onto the back of Ed's collar to keep him from swinging at the man. "Do you know what happened to this building?"

Ed grumbled under his breath about 'I grew' and 'not short anymore' and brushed himself off while Havoc spoke.

The man sighed. "I don't really know. There was just this massive sound and suddenly half the building was gone. We don't handle any sort of dangerous research here so I don't know what it could have been besides some sort of extremist hate attack. There's been so much trouble with these activist groups lately. I never thought they'd take it this far though..." he rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. "Sorry. I'm Ehric by the way."

"Havoc"

"Edward"

"Nice to meet you. I've never seen you before so I assume you don't work here. Can I ask what brings you here at..." the man looked at his watch, "12:15 AM?"

Ed and Havoc looked to each other. "Uh...we were just...driving past and we saw the rubble. And we wanted to make sure everything was ok."

"Thanks. But we have it under control. You should probably head out of here. It's not safe to be near the building until its been cleared. We did the best we could to stabilize it but it could still collapse at any moment. An engineer will be by in the morning to inspect the building and recommend any repairs. Everything should be fine after that but until then its best not to linger." A particularly fat raindrop sloshed down onto the pavement between them with a loud slap and they all looked to the pitch black sky for a moment. "Besides, its probably going to start really raining soon. We should go before it gets too wet."

"Did you say you work here?" Ed asked.

"Yeah. I'm an alchemist. Why?"

"I happen to have a few questions about this Institute."

"You do?" he sounded surprised. "Like what? And please don't ask if we do human transmutation experimentation. The answer is _no_. Absolutely not. That was the place before, not us." He sounded exasperated pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No. But I do want to know more about what you research here."

"Medicine. Why?"

"I was an alchemist too. I'm conducting my own research and I hear you've got some interesting work going on here."

"Oh. Well we definitely do. We're a medical research laboratory. We have cutting edge technology here. We exist to help push the boundaries of scientific research and help extend people's lives through better medicine and organized study."

"Extend people's lives? Do you mean like immortality?" Ed asked suspiciously, brow furrowed. Ehric only seemed puzzled.

"Uh no. Is that even possible? We don't do anything like that. We're more focused on healing injuries and ailments. I work on a project where we're trying to find a way to cure the influenza pandemic.* "

"Sounds like miracle work."

"You could say that. Every life we are able to save is a miracle."

"What are you using to bring about these 'miracles'?"

"We have a brand new study on alternative forms of alchemy that's going extremely well. Its had a lot of success."

"Does it have anything to do with Azoth?"

"Azoth?" Ehric laughed then ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Don't be ridiculous. Where would you hear something like that?" he pressed his lips into a tight line, stress starting to line his face. "Who did you say you were again?"

"Just a researcher."

"You're not with the military are you?"

"We're-"

"You are aren't you?! What do you-ah-you need to leave. Now. Just leave us alone. We're not doing anything wrong." he put his hands up non threateningly and started to slowly back away. "Just leave us to our research in peace." he turned suddenly and bolted down the street to his car, throwing the door open and launching into the seat before taking off with a squelch of tires. Ed and Havoc stared at each other dumbfounded for a moment over the man's quick departure.

"That was weird. What a jerk!" Ed huffed indignantly.

"I told you these people get weird about the military."

"Sounds to me like this Institute is _definitely_ hiding something. And I think it could very easily be a Philosopher's Stone. If that's true we need stop them."

"What do you want to do then, snoop around in the dark? "

"Exactly." Ed turned and started walking back towards the building. "There's something suspicious going on here and I'm going to find out what it is."

* * *

"Did you find anything yet?" Havoc asked Ed who was carefully examining the charred edge of a beam protruding from the mangled building. Rain was starting to sprinkle lightly, freckling the pavement with large darkened dots and clinging to the grass like dew.

"No." Ed sighed. "It just doesn't make sense to me. That Ehric guy said he thought it was some sort of retaliatory attack. Yet all of the damage seems to be worst towards the _center_ of the building. If it was a hate group why would they blow the building up from the inside? How would they even _get_ inside?"

"I dunno. Maybe it was someone who worked there? Or maybe they broke in?"

"That doesn't explain why they went to the trouble of breaking in at all. It seems more like maybe someone was trying to cover something up or destroy something specific. This was a targeted attack."

Havoc shrugged. "You're asking the wrong guy."

He leaned against the wall and pulled out a fresh cigarette. He put the end in his mouth then patted his pockets.

"Damn. I left my lighter in the car. Hey Fullmetal you gonna be alright if I leave you alone for two minutes?"

"Yeah yeah." Ed waved him off still intently examining the structure.

"Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone." Havoc teased.

"Mhm." Ed replied distractedly listening to the soft crunching of grass fade as Havoc walked away. He placed his hand flat against the edge of the building and ran his fingers over the transmuted material as if it would somehow give him the answer to his questions and reveal the secret to its sinister circumstance. Several minutes passed before Ed heard the sound of footsteps and rustling foliage and assumed Havoc had returned.

"Back so soon? You don't trust me?" He laughed but there was no response from the lighthearted soldier. He looked up with concern but Havoc wasn't there standing beside him. "Huh? Havoc?" he called out but there was still no response. The foliage rustled again, this time slightly farther away. He jumped to his feet, suddenly alert, ears pricked for more sounds and eyes rapidly scanning the dark for danger.

"Who's there?" he called out again but still received no reply. From the corner of his eye he spotted the same dark coat from earlier vanishing down the narrow alley space between two of the Institute's buildings. "Hey! Stop!" he ran forward in sudden pursuit of the suspicious figure. He rounded the corner of the building just in time to see the back of the figure turn away from shaking a locked entrance door and disappear around another corner. "Wait!" he chased after the figure, running faster to catch up. As he rounded the next corner, he was able to catch up to the dark coated figure who was standing on their tip toes trying to peer into a black tinted window, fingers cupped over their eyes and face pressed against the glass. "Hey!" Ed put his hands out onto the persons shoulders and forced them to turn and face him. As he turned Ed suddenly realized he recognized this person.

"Huh? Ling?" he asked with sudden confusion.

"Hey, Fullmetal." The figure's face curled into a wolfish grin and the voice that spoke was most assuredly not Ling's. The expressionhe wore was too unnaturally dark for the Xingese prince but it was still unsettlingly familiar.

"What the hell- _Greed?!_ he asked incredulously.

"The one and only." Greed laughed in response to Ed's stupefied expression.

"But...how?!"

"Well, I suppose you could call it divine intervention. Or just a stroke of good fortune."

"Is Ling in there?"

"No. Not this time. Just me, myself, and I. I've finally been granted a body of my own. You have no idea how quiet it is without that annoying kid blabbing away over all those souls raging and whining. " he rubbed a hand over his face in exasperation.

"You're back from the dead..." Ed trailed off as he thought about the implications of such a thing. Greed was dead. _Dead._ He shouldn't be standing here talking to him as though none of that had ever happened.

"Yeah and let me tell you it is _good_ to be alive."

"But...People can't come back from the dead. Its impossible. How are you here?"

"That's where you're wrong, kid. Nothing's impossible. Especially when you're an annoying little fucker who calls themself ' _God_ ' or ' _The World_ ' or whatever." Ed felt himself tense with shock. Truth had sent him back? Why?

"Why would Truth send you back?" He was dumbfounded.

"Beats me but hey I'm not complaining."

"Then what are you doing _here._ "

"Looking for my siblings." Ed felt his blood suddenly run cold.

"Wh-you mean those psychopaths are all alive again!?" He balled his fingers into a fist and ground his teeth together. This was bad. This was very bad.

Greed looked unconcerned.

"Don't have an aneurysm, kid. We don't have Philosopher's Stones anymore. We're basically powerless, practically harmless." Greed shrugged nonchalantly then turned back towards the window trying to tug it open without success.

"Your siblings can't run free around Central. They need to be captured, locked up."

"Uh huh" he moved on to the next window, pulling and tugging hard at the frame.

"We have to get control of them before they can cause any harm."

Greed ignored him, rattling the window glass trying to get it to budge. He found no more success with the second window than the first and hopped up the three small concrete steps to an old wooden door. He jiggled the handle and leaned against the door frame trying to shove it open with his shoulder.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me? You have to help me. I can't do alchemy anymore. Someone has to stop them."

Greed rammed his palm against the rusted metal plating of the door handle several times trying to force it open.

"Greed!"

The door suddenly popped open with a little click.

"Sorry. As much as I'd love to stay and chat I have business to attend to." he swung the door open, gave a quick two fingered wave then disappeared into the darkness.

"Greed, wait!"

Ed growled in frustration then ran up the steps in one stride and started running after Greed down the darkened hall.

* * *

Envy stood over the older Doctor, pressing the blade hard against his throat. He was quickly becoming annoyed that the man wasn't immediately cooperating under duress. Usually his victims were filled with all consuming terror by now, easily bending to his will like tree boughs in the wind. This man was obstinate, he wasn't fearful enough of him. It filled him with a pang of frustration at how much easier this would be if he could shift. If he could just find that one form that terrified his victim more than anything else he could be in complete control. He felt so powerless like this. As much as he favored this smaller, cuter form, its size wasn't exactly ideal for subduing larger opponents like this. It made him long for the freedom to change forms again, a luxury he'd taken for granted all his life.

"Aha! Found you!" he cringed and looked up towards the grating sound of an all too familiar voice, to the sight of Greed standing pompously in the doorway, pushing the heavy door open with a grin of triumph as though he owned the place. He probably thought he did.

Envy's eyes narrowed immediately with hostility.

"Greed." he hissed, displeased with this rather unwanted surprise.

"Hello to you too, Sunshine. You could act a little happier to see me. Seeing as I'm back from the dead and all."

"You're the last person I would ever want to see." he growled at him annoyed he'd chosen now to show up. Why did it have to be Greed?

"Oh I think there's someone here you'd much rather not see than me..." Greed laughed darkly.

Another figure suddenly careened into the room, gold hair brushing around his shoulders as he slid and skidded to a stop against the slippery wooden floors.

"Greed! Where are-" the figure's voice started to speak but stopped suddenly as his eyes caught sight of Envy holding an older man in a lab coat hostage while a small, terrified woman pressed herself as far away as possible against the counter along the back wall, eyes wide and glassy.

The room froze with a sudden tense air as the humans and homunculi took in the unexpected sight of one another.

"Pipsqueak?!" Envy blanched, his entire body going rigid and eyes widening in fear.

"Envy?!" Ed's voice was filled with shock but he quickly braced himself into a defensive position, fingers curled into fists and teeth clenched.

Envy tightened his grip on his hostage in concerned response, unsure how the alchemist would react but certain it wasn't going to be good.

"Envy, what are you doing? Let that man go." Ed spoke carefully, voice cutting sharply through the silence in the room.

"Fat chance. Try again, Alchemist." he readjusted his fingers on the blade nervously.

You're an alchemist?!" the man held hostage spoke suddenly, a look of relief crossing his face. "I'm saved!" his eyes looked at Ed with renewed hope and trust.

"Shut up!" Envy pressed the blade harder against his neck, causing a few sparse drops of blood to leak out. The man gave a small squeak of fear but it didn't deter him from speaking.

"Quick! Do something! Anything! "

"I said shut up." Envy's voice sounded uncharacteristically panicked as he barked at the man. The woman in the back shrunk farther towards the back of the room, hands behind her back as she leaned against the counter top.

"Please, I'm begging you! Do something!" The man's eyes pleaded with Ed, concern building in his countenance again as he watched the alchemist remain still.

Envy looked fearfully between Ed, Greed, and the hostage Doctor eyes darting anxiously as he waited for someone to make the first move. Seconds ticked by painfully before he realized why no one had bothered to move. Realization dawned on him and relief suddenly washed through him.

"You can't do alchemy anymore..." His mouth curled into a malicious smile and he threw his head back and laughed. "Wow. I'm not sure which of us has become more pathetic."

"Let him go, Envy."

"Or what? You'll attack me? Ha! I'll have his throat slit before you can move two feet."

"No, no, no! Don't do that!" the man pleaded desperately, shaking his head.

"I'm warning you. Let. Him. Go."

"No. Not until he tells me what I need to know. So spill it old man. No one's going to save you."

"Greed? A little help?" Ed asked impatiently.

"What? I'm not getting stabbed for some human." Greed shrugged then crossed his arms and leaned a hip against the table nonchalantly watching the scene unfold with amusement.

"Wait...Where's the tin can?" Envy asked suspiciously suddenly becoming wary again. The older Elric may not be able to do alchemy but that didn't mean the younger couldn't.

Ed took advantage of his lack of knowledge about what had transpired after his death and laughed. "He'll be here any second, Envy. Give up now before we have to force you."

Envy frowned, his eyes suddenly searching the dark behind them for a flash of silver. When nothing changed, he looked to Greed for a moment as though trying to contemplate a difficult decision.

He seemed reluctant but made a choice. He opened his mouth to speak but the words that came out were almost unintelligible as anything more than some sort of harsh language with a whispery, almost mumbled tempo. He spoke quickly, voice barely above a whisper, eyes glued to Greed. Greed gave no indication that he understood the words for several moments, expression remaining blank, but then suddenly he smiled and replied back in the same garbled tongue. Envy looked immensely pleased like a cat that had eaten a canary and looked to Ed with a smug expression. Ed watched Greed stand straight up again and take several ominous steps towards him.

"Greed? What did he say? What are you doing?"

"Sorry, kid. Its nothing personal."

Several things happened all at once. First, Greed pounced forward at Ed launching himself on top of him. Ed dived out of the way but not before Greed was already striking out with a closed fist. Ed barely managed to dodge the hit, losing his balance and falling to the floor trying to push Greed away from him with his feet. They continued to struggle for control.

Second, the woman had stepped forward to try and throw one of the heavy books off the shelf at Envy. She wasn't very strong and it did little to actually harm him but it did distract him sufficiently enough for the older Doctor to twist and jar the broken bones of his bad hand and wriggle free from the loosened grip. Envy screeched in pain, ripping his hand away suddenly but recovered quickly, wrapping his good hand around the girls wrist, trying to throw her to the ground and drag her with him while following Chymes with the knife blade to keep him from escaping completely.

Third, the door slammed open further and another tall blonde figure appeared in the doorway.

"Hey Fullmetal I- oh shit." Havoc took in the sight of Greed and Ed grappling with one another on the floor and Envy with the two doctors trying to escape, and took a step backward then called down the hall. "In here boys!" he waved his hand. "I thought I told you not to get into trouble."

Yeah trying not to." Ed spoke through gritted teeth as he tried to dodge another swipe at his head.

The sound of footsteps could be heard running swiftly down the hall, thundering like a stampede of elephants, gradually getting louder as a large group of people came closer to the room.

A group of at least fifteen Amestrian soldiers burst into the room and filed in from the door, arranging themselves quickly into a semi circle around the occupants of the room, rifles drawn and pointed.

"Freeze!" the commanding officer in the center shouted.

As quickly as everything had started it was completely frozen again. Greed and Ed looked up, Greed's fist mid punch, just inches from Ed's face. Envy turned his head sharply to look at the guns pointed at him, and the two doctors stood still like deer caught the headlights of a car.

"Hands up where I can see them."

The two doctors complied immediately, silently raising their hands with relief, dropping the heavy objects in their hands they'd been using to fight back.

"Ah fuck." Greed cursed, upset about picking the wrong side, releasing Ed's collar from his grip and raising his hands slowly. "This is exactly why I can't trust you." he hissed at Envy who gave a half hearted sneer before slowly raising his own hands with laxadaisical sarcasm.

"Drop the knife." They commanded and Envy complied with defeat, the scalpel blade falling to the floor with a clatter. "All of you interlace your fingers behind your head and get on your knees." The two doctors obeyed without hesitation but the two homunculi stood still and exchanged a look of uncertainty. "I said. On. Your. Knees." the Captain punctuated each word with emphasis. "Now!"

They both seemed to recognize the severity of their predicament and admitted defeat, both sinking to their knees on the floor.

"You're all under arrest."

Four of the soldiers rushed forward, slapping handcuffs quickly onto the two homunculi and the two doctors.

"Wait! What are you doing? I was just a hostage! I'm a doctor I work here!" Dr Chymes protested with distress.

"Everyone goes in for questioning." The soldiers pulled them all roughly to their feet and started shoving them out the door into the hallway.

"What about our rights? Innocent until proven guilty?"

"You have no rights. You're harboring two war criminals in your facility. That makes you an enemy of the State and a threat to national security."

"What!?" Chymes was outraged.

"Where are you taking us?" Clara's voice was small and fearful.

"Central command."

"Central command?!"

"The brass will decide what to do with you all."

They marched the four prisoners outside into waiting cars, separating the two homunculi from the human doctors.

"This is why I hate the military." Chymes muttered under his breath as he was shoved forcefully into the back of a dark government car.

Ed was dusting himself off and straightening his jacket as he followed the entourage down the hall and outside into the rain, Havoc following beside him.

"Seems like you just can't seem to stay out of trouble." Havoc teased him.

"Yeah. Guess not."

"I knew I shouldn't have left you alone."

"How did you get these guys out here so fast anyways?" he motioned towards the soldiers.

"I didn't. Turns out a neighbor had seen the explosion and called in to the military office to report it. The uprising in Central a few years ago really put people on edge. They were on their way down to investigate anyways, I just happened to meet them on their way in."

"Well that was convenient."

"Sure was. A good thing too. They sure saved your ass.

"Hey! I had it under control."

"Uh huh."

They came to a stop at the top of the concrete dais near the front of the building under the edge of the roof looking down at the street, watching as the shiny black cars started to pull away. Rain was now pouring in heavy buckets, the sky emptying a torrent of tears onto the land. Water dripped with a loud slap off the edge of the gutters dripping a curtain of water in front of them.

"So the homunculi are back then huh?" Havoc's voice took on a more serious tone.

"Yeah." Ed frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"It means ... we may have another fight on our hands."

They both stared silently out into the darkness as the implications of that statement truly sunk in.

"We should head to Central. We need to talk to Mustang as soon as possible." Havoc ducked under the curtain of water and started making his way across the lawn to the car.

Ed turned to give one final look up at the mysterious institute. The wind kicked up sending a spray of water mist when a sudden strange glimmer caught his attention. He turned his head to look for it but by the time he moved it was already gone. He shivered involuntarily as he caught the faintest trace of a strange, unfamiliar energy on the wind. Something that was neither alchemy, nor alkehestry, nor any other such thing he recognized. It made his body tense and the hair on the back of his neck stand on end in warning almost as if the air itself was charged with electricity. The wind shifted again and it disappeared.

 _I don't like this place._

He ducked into the rain and followed Havoc down the muddy lawn towards the car.

* * *

A/N: I should be studying for finals but oops this is more fun... Sorry this chapter isn't the most exciting and its pretty poorly written but its transitional anyways. Like I've said before I'll go back and edit it later when I have time to make it sound prettier. I've been super busy with school and haven't had much time to write. I'm still trying to establish some exposition and clearly align everyone together. I think just one or two more chapters and I'll be finished with that and ready to start building the actual story more.

Also I made a very slight tweak to the last chapter to add a little bit more clarity later on. Nothing major, just a little bit of rewording on a few sentences. If you recognize what I changed then kudos to you, you'll probably catch on to one of the larger themes I'm trying to convey.

Also on another note, in my mind I imagine all of the homunculus must speak multiple languages because of their age and involvement in orchestrating wars amongst countries especially Envy who would need to be able to disguise himself as many different people. It would limit who he could impersonate and what information he could gather if he couldn't speak other languages. I also imagine that at the very least they must all speak the Xerxian language since Father is originally from Xerxes and the souls in their stones were the Xerxian people. So why wouldn't they use that to communicate with just each other at times? So that's my justification for that.

*fun fact: In the early 1900's one of the biggest health problems in the world was the flu pandemic. In 1918 the flu and pneumonia killed more than 50 million people. Penicillin was one of the first true antibiotics to be invented and that wasn't until 1928. Also Genetics was first studied around the mid 1800's but DNA wasn't discovered until 1958. Any sort of truly modern study of genetics wasn't really done in the early 1900's and the interest in epigenetics wasn't until world war II. So for the purposes of my story Clara and the institute are researching into some fairly unheard of stuff. I've sort of smooshed the timelines a little because obviously their technology advancements don't match up exactly parallel with real life since they have automail in the FMA world and we don't have anything like that in real life. But I'm trying to incorporate some real historical medical research into my story.

As always, please review if you're enjoying.

Thanks!  
-Apostasy II


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